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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24031336">SHOWTIME</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/phosphenical/pseuds/phosphenical'>phosphenical</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>One Piece</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>ASL Brothers, Brother Shenanigans, Fashion Show!, Fluff, Gen, Modern AU, feel good</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 02:00:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,500</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24031336</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/phosphenical/pseuds/phosphenical</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Hey, Koala,” he began genuinely. “How do you manage to drag me into these things?”</p>
<p>Sabo owes Koala a favor and drags Luffy and Ace into it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Koala &amp; Sabo (One Piece), Monkey D. Luffy &amp; Portgas D. Ace &amp; Sabo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>57</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>SHOWTIME</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>this is my piece for the Share the World Fashion Zine! I'm glad I chose to write about the ASL brothers and Koala considering I'd give my life for them all. if you ordered the zine, thank you! if you didn't, thank you for reading this anyway. kudos and comments are always appreciated. i also sincerely hope you're all staying as safe as you can be.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Many would have called Sabo a wild-child - impossible to corral on a good day and made that much more difficult if it was something he didn’t want to do. Though not related by blood, that was a trait he and his brothers all shared. Through any amount of turbulence, they stood by their beliefs.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That being said, it was nothing short of a miracle that he was standing so still. “Hey, Koala,” he began genuinely. “How do you manage to drag me into these things?” His arms were held out at his sides and he fought not to fidget.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Koala looked up from her measuring tape and released his waist, stepping back. “Because we needed models and you owe me favors. A </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot </span>
  </em>
  <span>of favors.” Her smile was sweet but there was a glint of steel in her eyes that caused a shiver to run down his spine. There was no threat. Verbally.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t you think that’s a little dramatic?” Sabo chuckled, only a little nervous. Once, Koala had punched him at full strength and he thought he flatlined for half a minute. It really hurt. Even when she claimed her punch was only at 40% it made him think twice about playfully wrestling with her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She straightened her back and began to count off on her fingers. “Okay, there was that time you didn’t print off your final paper but I ran out to the store to get you printer ink? Or the time you overslept but I told Dragon-san you were sick and distracted him for an hour and a half. Don’t forget that time I also had to - ”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Okay, okay, to be fair those were all his bad. He winced at the reminder. “I got it, I got it.” He agreed hastily, not wanting to discover exactly how much Koala remembered. If she remembered the little things, she surely remembered the </span>
  <em>
    <span>big </span>
  </em>
  <span>and </span>
  <em>
    <span>embarrassing</span>
  </em>
  <span> things, and if Ace got wind of that he would never get to live it down.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It won’t be so bad,” Koala promised him. “You just have to...walk down a catwalk and look pretty.” She patted his cheek reassuringly. “You’re good at looking pretty.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I - ” Sabo snapped his mouth shut, his cheeks only a little warm. “Thanks.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And besides...Robin needed the help and she deserves it.” She fiddled with her hands before she finally took a seat, tension evident in her shoulders. “I couldn’t just leave her hanging, not after everything she’s done for me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sabo sat down next to her, carefully placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “You’re right. It won’t take that long anyway.” Just a few hours out of his day, really. Koala shot him a small and grateful smile.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I have a cape!” A red blur darted past them, interrupting whatever tender moment they might have had. Another blur of color passed in front of them, a wordless shout escaping their lips. “You’re just jealous!” Luffy scrambled for the wardrobe, scaling it with an impressive speed. He crouched on top, pulling down on the lower lid of his eye and sticking out his tongue.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You stole it off my rack!” Ace fumed, both hands reached out to throttle his brother and steam practically pouring out of his ears.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nuh-uh!” Luffy’s voice was pitched even higher in protest. Normally, this was the part where they would both look towards Sabo with a frightening intensity and force him to choose a side - Luffy would use his puppy dog eyes and would curl his lips into a pout while Ace would attempt to appeal to his loyalty. “I look cool! Cooler than you would look!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a little long on you,” Koala pointed out innocently. She was met with another cry at the supposed betrayal and launched himself from the top of the wardrobe as Ace shot towards him again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey!” Sabo shouted, making a gallant dart for the wardrobe to steady its rocking.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Come and get me, stinky!” Luffy goaded Ace, well aware that Ace could beat him up any day of the week. There was a solid 60% chance that he was going to die. Sabo hoped that Robin held no liability under the court of law. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sabo breathed out a sigh of relief as the wardrobe stopped wobbling, wincing at the slam of a door. “Luffy’s gonna trip.” He pointed out less-than-helpfully.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, for sure.” Koala agreed. Their theory was proven correct when a resounding thud was heard, followed by a shriek of pure murder. “Should we help him?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sabo blinked. “Nah,” he said. “He had it coming.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sabo didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>get </span>
  </em>
  <span>nervous. He had never been one to shy away from a challenge, much less a few dozen people, but the energy that lit the air around him was filled with sparks threatening to catch light. It was undeniably anxiety. Sabo was the kind of guy that usually had a lot to say and was going to say it, but he had never been the focus of everyone’s attention just for what he was wearing to the way he looked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They won’t be looking at you,” Robin soothed with a serene smile. Sabo wondered, not for the first time, if she was capable of reading minds. He wouldn’t put it past her. “They’ll be looking at your clothing. In fact, you shouldn’t even smile.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sabo hesitated. “Really?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not that serious!” Koala called out, snipping the loose threads off the trim of the model’s shirt. “C’mon, Robin, don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>tease </span>
  </em>
  <span>him.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She covered her smile with her hand. “Of course. My apologies.” Her hand fell to her side. “You’ll do fine, Sabo-kun.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He felt a little lost but decided it’d be more painless for everyone if he just nodded along and pretended he understood. He tugged on the end of his shirt, feeling oddly exposed in the skin-tight clothing despite the fact that barely any skin was actually showing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s fine,</span>
  </em>
  <span> he told him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>By tomorrow nobody will even remember.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s photographers out there!” Ace announced, appearing out of practically nowhere and running a hand through his gelled hair, wincing at the product that immediately rubbed off on his hand.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Or not.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The light streaming through the bottom of the curtains dimmed and everyone fell quiet. Koala carefully pushed all the models into their line, doing a headcount and then doing it again just in case. She whispered into the microphone of her headpiece and caught Sabo’s eye, giving him a smile.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Good luck,’ she mouthed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And then it was go time. The music wasn’t loud but it was the only thing ringing in his ears, some lyric-less synth-pop that would be stuck in his head for the next three days. His first walk went as well as he could have hoped, even if he was entirely zoned out for it. The moment he was out of view of the gathered crowd he was instructed to strip and one of the volunteers shoved a hanger towards him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He pulled it on and fiddled with the bell sleeves of the royal purple shirt, frowning at the way his hands were immediately swallowed into the fabric.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ace walked past him and pulled one of the suspenders on his shorts up and away from his shoulder, snapping it against his skin when he let go of it. “I’ll kill you.” Sabo immediately threatened, head whipping towards him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ace managed to convince </span>
  <em>
    <span>someone </span>
  </em>
  <span>that he was the rightful owner of the cape and it dramatically billow behind him - fitting him in all the right ways it hadn’t fit their little brother. He looked like a gladiator having stepped right out of the ring, his shirt glistening like scales. It was golden, it was regal, it wasn’t anything like the guy that put tin foil in the microwave.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And then there was the fast clacking of high heels and Sabo was hit with the weight of a very enthusiastic boy. “Luffy,” he wheezed, not even having to turn around to know who was wrapping his arms around him. “Don’t mess up the clothes - they aren’t ours and we can’t afford them.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Luffy pouted but just as quickly released him. When he stepped back he was dressed in the exact opposite of what anybody would expect - he was the type that tried to wear shorts to formal events and couldn’t be separated from his worn-down straw hat. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The ballgown was floor length and aquamarine, the folds and layers just barely shimmering - you had to really look for it. Wherever he walked, a small trail of sparkles fell from the dress and dusted the floor. A dark blue rose was tucked behind his ear.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>More alarmingly, the dress paired with the heels made Luffy look approximately four inches taller than he actually was. They grew up so fast.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ace grinned widely and leaned in close, his arms wrapping around his brothers’ shoulders. “Well,” he said. “We can’t keep them waiting, right?” They walked towards the curtain, barely holding their breath. “It’s showtime, after all.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/galaxikoi">twitter</a> and <a href="https://galaxikoi.tumblr.com/">tumblr</a> if you'd like!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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